Readers deserve better

If the recent story titled “Advertisers back off NASCAR” was not an agenda-driven hatchet piece, then it was an example of woefully poor reporting and editing. 

It would be too cumbersome to document all of the story’s missteps, but it obviously lacked three important elements: forthright reporting, good sourcing and clarity. Subjects were addressed in the story that Fox was never asked questions about, thus couldn’t respond to. Media buyers that didn’t purchase a single commercial in the Daytona 500 were quoted about the NASCAR TV ad marketplace, while unnamed sources were used to supply phantom pricing figures that changed once challenged. Positioning these sources as experts was misleading at best and irresponsible at worst. Guesses should not drive headlines in publications that want to be taken seriously. In terms of the story’s clarity, specific examples would require lengthy explanations, but it’s obvious that [the] reporters went to great lengths to paint an unfair picture of the NASCAR marketplace. Such was accomplished by a convoluted melding of facts, suggestions and supposition. It’s clear that they began with an agenda, and then selected facts to support it.

Fox had hoped that the magazine would use this space to publicly acknowledge the several omissions it made while reporting this story, the same mistakes admitted to us privately, but that was not to be. Shame on you SBJ. Your readers, as well as the industry you cover, deserve better.

Lou D’Ermilio
New York City

D’Ermilio is senior vice president, communications, Fox Sports Networks.